Universities can take concrete steps to support HE in Gaza

What can the world’s universities do to support Gaza’s universities and the academic community at this time of crisis? And how? In a new briefing paper, I examine the role of universities at times of war and crisis, putting forward ideas for universities to implement.

The policy brief, The Role of World Universities at Times of War and Crisis: Widening participation and the reconstruction of higher education in the Gaza Strip (Occupied Palestinian Territories), published this month by the University of Cambridge Centre for Business Research, calls for extra efforts to be made to widen access for the Palestinian academic community, including both those who remain in Gaza and who are abroad, and for the creation of an inclusive space at universities that addresses the needs of students and staff from war-torn zones and conflict-affected areas.

Furthermore, it calls on universities around the world to contribute to the reconstruction of Gaza’s universities as soon as this is possible, for example, by investing in the physical rebuilding of university spaces and supporting Gaza’s universities by sharing expertise and resources.

Double standards

I also recommend that universities communicate clearly how they see their role as higher education institutions at times of war and crisis in order to avoid a sense of double standards.

Many universities responded to the invasion of Ukraine by taking measures, including issuing statements of condemnation, supporting divestment, and cutting ties with Russian institutions.

However, universities have, generally speaking, been less proactive with regard to Israel’s ongoing war on Gaza and its universities.

This is despite the fact that the International Court of Justice ruled earlier this year that “at least some of the acts and omissions alleged by South Africa to have been committed by Israel in Gaza appear to be capable of falling within the provisions of the [Genocide] Convention”.

The acts and omissions are therefore of a higher level of intensity than the Russian war on Ukraine. Such double standards have been harshly criticised by global student encampments.

Universities’ confusing response and actions at times of crisis are also undermining their efforts to achieve equality and widen participation for marginalised groups of Palestinian community members on campuses worldwide.

The briefing paper states: “In order for world universities to maintain their reputations as academic institutions of higher learning and gain wider trust in their mission and judgement, a clear approach toward responding to war and crisis, that is consistent, is crucial.”

Israel’s ongoing war on Gaza should not deter measures that could be taken to support Gaza’s academic community and the reconstruction of Gaza’s universities.

The 20-page briefing paper says that historical and political turbulence in the Palestinian context have shaped higher education in Gaza. Although Palestinians have faced a myriad of challenges under siege and occupation, they have remained steadfast in their pursuit of education and higher education.

What can universities do?

Universities’ responses to the crisis in Gaza could be political, humanitarian, academic and pastoral initiatives, or a mix of all of these as they are all interrelated.

Building on two large-scale studies of higher education in Gaza and the political economy of health, which I conducted at the University of Cambridge, and on my first-hand experience as a lecturer at two of Gaza’s universities and in other roles in the higher education sector in Gaza, I set out strategic and actionable recommendations for universities that are agile and could be adapted to different departments and actors.

Overarching strategic recommendations include:

• Initiating scholarship schemes with real-world rather than symbolic engagement: Universities need to enhance their understanding of Gaza applicants’ circumstances and make the necessary adjustments that would encourage applicants who remain in Gaza to apply for scholarships on offer.

For example, universities could initiate alternative ways of assessment that are practically possible under war and displacement conditions and use diplomatic means to negotiate exit routes for successful applicants.

• Working together for an inclusive culture at universities: To achieve inclusiveness, universities should not follow a one-size-fits-all approach in their policies and practices of inclusion when it comes to international students.

Differences in context exist, even among students from conflict-affected areas, but these students are often considered as one homogenous group. Positive equality acknowledges the differences of Gaza students and staff experiences and works to address them by encouraging their active participation in informing universities’ strategies and actions, for example, universities’ response to war and crisis in particular contexts.

• Building sustainable collaborations and partnerships with Gaza’s universities: International solidarity from the world’s universities is vital for the survival of Gaza’s universities which, due to decades of occupation, suffer from “a simultaneous process of construction and destruction”, and have been completely or partially destroyed as a result of Israel’s ongoing war on Gaza.

Conversely, this would enrich universities by connecting them to local expertise and networks and comparative insights and would boost their widening participation, social justice and de-colonisation initiatives.

Universities should aim to build sustainable collaborations and partnerships with Gaza’s universities and the Palestinian academic community, both those who remain in Gaza and those who are abroad.

• Encouraging Palestinian academic production and strengthening the capacity of Gaza’s universities for academic research: Universities should problematise global centre- periphery relationships, encouraging academic Palestinian production both at Gaza’s universities in the Occupied Palestinian Territories and beyond.

This could be done, for example, by empowering Gaza universities’ research capacities in the future, protecting academic freedoms for Palestinians at universities, creating opportunities for joint knowledge creation and democratising access to knowledge and expertise, which is essential to the reconstruction of higher education in Gaza after the current war ends.

As for concrete, actionable recommended steps, they fit into four categories:

• Supporting the Gaza academic community in the Occupied Palestinian Territories by, for example, offering educational schemes to students whose studies had been interrupted due to the war and who were able to evacuate from Gaza, so they can continue their studies abroad; offering fellowship schemes and employment and upskilling opportunities for displaced Gaza academic and administrative staff abroad; assisting Palestinian community members at universities with humanitarian funds and-or interventions to deal with caring responsibilities or circumstances arising from the war conditions; and providing relevant wellbeing and counselling services to support Palestinian members of the community of universities at this difficult time.

• Creating an inclusive context at universities by implementing changes on governance, academic and administrative levels that aim to enhance academic credibility, freedoms and the flexibility of admissions processes and practices, thus encouraging participation from those who come from contexts of war, occupation and siege such as Gaza.

• Contributing to the reconstruction of Gaza’s universities by, for example, investing in the physical rebuilding of these universities, establishing joint partnerships and the sharing of expertise and resources.

• Encouraging Palestinian academic production by, for example, establishing a Palestinian Studies Centre, creating academic posts which require expertise in the Palestinian context, inviting Palestinian academic contributions to seminars, conferences and publications, and giving academics the opportunity to participate in equitable project leadership.

Contrary to the generally held assumption of higher education as a luxury in contexts of instability, for Palestinians under occupation, higher education is existential, giving Gaza strength and hope for a better future as soon as the war ends.

But as I write this, many excellent students and hardworking scholars in Gaza have been deprived of their universities and their higher education. The universities’ responses to this war and crisis in Gaza are urgently needed.

Dr Mona Jebril is a research associate at the University of Cambridge’s Centre for Business Research and a Bye-Fellow in education and academic development at Queens’ College, University of Cambridge. For more information go to her website.

This article is a commentary. Commentary articles are the opinion of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of University World News.